Emulation
by Raindrop Ninja
Summary: Kiel just wants to be a little more like Leon! But his protective sister's no help, so what's a guy to do when he just wants a little emulation? Based off of a happening in the RF4 event 'A Day In Leon's Life'. Possibly oneshot, hopefully multi-chapter. A little FreyXLeon. T for safety.
1. What is Love?

Hello there! I exist! XD It's been so long since I posted a story... But here's a new one! :D It's my first RF story, and the premise basically stems from something that happens during the RF4 event "A Day In Leon's Life" where Kiel asks how he can be more like Leon. The 'Kiel almost walked out of the house shirtless' thing is actually part of the event (for those who haven't played and/or encountered the event yet) but from there it's all my own ideas. Like this. Anyways, there will be more chapters to this story (most likely), as well as more RF stories to come. I just started thinking of all the different ways Kiel could try to emulate Leon and ended up with this chapter (and probably more, as I said.) So I hope you enjoy, and without further ado, here's 'Emulation'! =)

* * *

"Forte, calm down," suggested Frey as she rubbed her neck a little sheepishly. "It's not that bad…"

"According to you! You're his girlfriend, you're supposed to say that! Can't you keep him out of trouble?" Forte huffed as she tapped the hilt of her sword impatiently, arms crossed. "Seriously! Kiel almost walked out the door shirtless this morning in an attempt to emulate him!"

Frey almost started laughing, but caught herself as she became acutely aware of the knight's exasperation. "Well, what am I supposed to do about it? A-"

"After all, you can't blame me for being an excellent role model." Both girls jumped at the sudden interruption as the owner of the voice sauntered up to them, ears pricked.

"Leon! Where-"

"Leon! Do you have any idea what Kiel tried to do today thanks to you?"

Leon just laughed. "I heard. I'll admit, I'm rather surprised." He grinned as his tail flicked in amusement. "Makes me wonder what else I could get him to do…"

Forte's eyes narrowed further as her hand closed around her hilt. "Don't you dare go filling my brother's head with such indecent thoughts as yours!"

She watched the Dragon Priest like a hawk as he lazily wrapped his arms around Frey's waist and settled his head on her shoulder from behind, making her flush softly. "Indecent thoughts? Me? What ever gave you that idea?" He blinked at Forte innocently, then turned his head so his lips were gently against the Earthmate's ear. "Love, what exactly were you telling our lady knight here, hmm~?"

Frey's whole body flushed as she got the suggestion of his words and he jumped back, laughing, before she could shove him away in embarrassment. "L-Leon!" she sputtered indignantly as hues of rose painted her cheeks.

He just chuckled. "I didn't know I'd walked up on _that_ kind of conversation. Pardon me for interrupting~"

"Y-You salacious-!" Forte's face flamed brighter than her companion's as the male simply walked off, satisfied with the mischief he'd caused. Frey simply shifted from foot to foot before decidedly running after him, mercifully sparing both herself and Forte from any further awkwardness. The knight stood there for a long moment before turning on her heel and walking briskly off to continue her patrol.

* * *

Meanwhile, a certain impressionable young blonde had been watching this exchange from the window of the castle where he sat sipping tea and talking with Volkanon, whom he had been asking about the many books he'd written. Of course, he hadn't heard any of the exchange, but he'd seen it- well, most of it anyhow. Once Volkanon had gotten up to check on Vishnal (who was cooking unattended, which was a bit of a scary thought), Kiel had been left with nothing to do aside from perhaps flip through the volumes on the table between him and the butler's empty seat, which he'd already done before- the books were far too thick to begin reading on a whim like that. One must have the right resolve before one tackles such a challenge. So instead, he looked out the window to his left where bright sunlight filtered in. What caught his eye was the scene of his sister, Leon and Frey talking in the middle of the town square. He watched as the three talked a bit, then Leon wrapped his arms around the green-haired 'princess', resting his head against hers before turning to whisper intimately in her ear. Kiel watched in spellbound silence as Leon leapt away laughing, Frey's face a bright red, and as Leon walked off with a grin on his face, Frey ran after him, grabbing his hand as she caught up.

"Wow…" breathed Kiel. "Maybe that's what it takes… To be like him, maybe I…" He swallowed and his face felt hot. His heartbeat quickened and he hopped out of his chair, forgetting about his conversation with Volkanon and his tea growing cold on the table and instead hurrying home. He had an idea.

* * *

Forte came home from her evening patrol just as the sun was setting. The female knight wiped sweat from her brow as she removed her visor and stared up at the sky for a moment. Streaks of orange, red, and gold painted the darkening sky and served as a perfect backdrop to the blossoming cerezo trees. Spring was in full bloom.

The door to her house opened with a soft creak, and Forte found the lamp by the door lit, as well as the door to Kiel's room closed. 'That's odd. Kiel's door is always open,' she thought. She knocked softly, wondering if her brother was even in there at all. She hadn't seen him around town for a few hours, though.

There was a small thud and a sudden scrabbling, as though something had fallen on the floor and was now being picked up. The sound of a book closing, and a cover sliding on a hardwood floor. "C-Come in!"

Forte opened the door to the boy's room, a perplexed expression on her face. "Kiel? Are you alright?" she asked, walking in and looking around. Nothing was broken or out of place. However, a corner of a book was peeking out from under her brother's bed. The word "Heart" peeked out at her from the cover, and she was about to say something when Kiel spoke.

"Um, actually, I-I have a question, sis…" Kiel sat on the edge of his bed, swinging his legs and looking out the window across from him. His face was a little red but other than that Forte could find nothing wrong with him. "W-Well… How do I put this, uh…" He looked straight at her and rubbed his neck with a sheepish little grin. "How do I get a girlfriend?"

Forte stared at him gape-mouthed in horror, a flush coming to her face as the topic she was most averse to was broached. "K-Kiel!" She swallowed and summoned all her willpower to keep herself from running to her own room in retreat. She could flee the scene in any other situation, but this was her brother. She had to make an exception for him. "Wha… What makes you ask that? Why the sudden interest?" she asked instead, staying surprisingly calm despite her inner turmoil.

"Weeeell…" He swallowed but kept his little smile. She hadn't reacted too well to this morning's shirtlessness fiasco, so how would she react when she found out this was for the same reason? "I… Wanna know what love is, and I figured the best way to do that is to have a significant other…" He hoped she would accept that answer alone.

But it was not to be, as Forte wouldn't let it rest there. "And why do you want to know what love is?" she asked, getting a little less nervous and a little more irate as she started to have an inkling as to the driving force behind her brother's sudden curiosity.

He sighed a little, but his smile got a bit wider as he replied earnestly, "So I can be more like Leon!"

Forte crossed her arms and let out an irked growl, all awkwardness vanishing. "That man…!" Now she permitted herself to leave, and turned away, closing her brother's door without another word. Retreating to her room, she began to strip off her armor and prepare herself for bed. "Honestly, what on earth does he see worth emulating in that man?" she huffed in irritation as she let her hair down and ran her fingers through it.

* * *

Kiel just blinked at the closed door in slight surprise before sighing to himself and laying back on his bed. "I guess it won't be that easy…" Then he hit upon another idea and just smiled, pleased with himself. "I'll just ask Leon and Frey about it tomorrow! I'm sure they can tell me!"


	2. One Fish, Two Fish

**A/N: Hello all! This next chapter came much sooner than expected (for me, anyway...) It also came at 4 in the morning so... Stuff may be a bit weird. But I've been really emotionally messed up lately and writing is a great coping device for me so there'll probably be a lot more soon! :D Anyway, thank you for reading and here's the next chapter of 'Emulation'! I really had way too much fun with this one... Poor Kiel's secretly dirty mind. Who corrupted it I wonder?**

* * *

"So, do you have anything for me, Illuminata?" Kiel asked excitedly as he stood in the flower shop doorway, wreathed in the glow of early morning sunlight and the scent of fresh flowers. He could see dust in the sunbeams filtering into the shop around him, and a bird chirped from somewhere up in the rafters.

The self-proclaimed 'Great Detective' looked up as Kiel had entered, pausing in the midst of watering one of the many plants that were displayed throughout the shop. "Other than flowers, I can't say I do," she sighed, straightening up. "I investigate mysteries, not people." Walking over to him, she added, "Though Leon himself is kind of a mystery... But this is one you'll have to figure out on your own."

As she grinned at the idea of perhaps having herself an 'apprentice', Kiel just rubbed his neck, a little disheartened by the fact that Selphia's resident gumshoe couldn't help him with reaching his goal. "Oh. Alright. Well..." He smiled again, looking up at the elf. "Since you're a great detective, where would you suggest I start?"

"I'm glad you asked, my dear Watson!" She chuckled, pleased. "Well, for starters, inventory all the knowledge you already have of him and go from there." Kiel blinked at her for a moment, before looking down at the floor with a determined expression. Following Illuminata's instructions exactly, he thought over what he knew about the Guardian. What he knew about his likes, dislikes, hobbies, work, origin. After mulling it over for some time, he seemed to reach a resolution and nodded to himself, pleased. He was about to say something when Illuminata tapped his head. "I hate to bother you while you're thinking, Watson, but you're blocking the doorway."

He blinked again as he realized he'd been standing in the same spot the whole time, and quickly stepped aside, nodding with a sheepish and distracted look on his face. "Sorry!" he apologized hastily, brushing past Xiao Pai as he hurried out of the shop and back toward his house.

"Good luck solving your case!" Illuminata called after him.

"Case? Kiel has wrapped himself up in something else?" Xiao Pai inquired as she walked in.

"Yep! It's the Case of the Mysterious Leon!~"

Xiao Pai just blinked at her for a bit. "...It seems he _is_ quite the mystery, yes?"

* * *

After a few minutes of searching through his room trying to figure out where he'd put it, Kiel finally came upon his fishing pole. He seldom used it at all save for the occasional festival for which it was called upon. Fishing wasn't an especially strong suit of Kiel's. However, it was a hobby and definite strong suit of Leon's. So perhaps, Kiel thought, by becoming more skilled at fishing, he could better understand Leon and become a bit more like him in the process. Making sure he had the proper bait, he then set off for the Dragon Lake, the rod tightly in his hand and determination firmly on his face. Starting today, he became a warrior of the fish. Today, he would fight them and win.

And so he did, for a few long hours, getting bites here and there and reeling many of them in. The bucket he brought with him had a decent amount of fish in it by the time the sun was beginning its slow descent. He cast his line easily and it landed with a lazy plop in the lake's cool water. Several minutes passed with no hint of activity, when suddenly, a huge tug nearly yanked the pole from his hands. His grip tightened and he planted his feet, determined not to lose this one. A fierce struggling came from the other end of the line, and so went a tug of war between Kiel and the fish, both bound and determined to win the battle. Neither one gave way for several minutes until-

"Kiel!"

The young male's concentration broke for a moment, and in that split second the fish gave a mighty yank. It was enough to pull the rod from Kiel's hands. As he snatched at it, realizing what had happened, it sped away from him, still attached to the fish. Kiel tried to chase after it, wading into the water though he was hopelessly slower than it. However, it got caught between two rocks not too far away from him, and the blonde bookworm made his way through the water towards it as it quivered and jumped from the excited fish's pulling. As Kiel got closer, the pole began to bend farther and farther as the fish tried harder and harder with all of its energy to get away. Knowing that the tool was quite old and had been passed down to him from his father, and to his father from his grandfather, he pushed himself harder through the water, trying in vain to go faster.

_-CRACK.-_

Kiel was about three feet from the rock when the pole snapped, spraying splinters in his direction. He flinched back as the old wooden pole split into two large pieces (and several smaller ones), one of which disappeared under the water, still attached to the fish. His heart sank as he came closer and grabbed the pole. He'd let the big catch of the day slip away and now his grandfather's pole was broken. He was disappointed. Forte would be disappointed...

As he waded dejectedly back to the lake shore and picked up his bucket of fish, he heard his name called again. "Kiel!" Looking over toward the road into town, he saw his sister standing there, looking red in the face. "Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!" She sounded out of breath.

"F-Forte!" Kiel stared at her in surprise. Then, he timorously looked down at the broken pole he held in his hand. "Oh, I've just been here, fishing."

Forte's brow furrowed. "Fishing? But you never fish aside from festivals..."

Deciding that his sister had had too much stress already today, he decided to spare her the truth, instead simply saying that he was craving fish for dinner. "But... I broke the fishing pole..." That, he could not hide from her. She began to walk toward him and he wasn't sure what to expect.

"Who cares about that right now? You're bleeding!" she exclaimed in dismay, touching a small gash on Kiel's forehead. She pulled a bloody wood splinter from his hair, then grabbed the bucket and pole from her brother's hands before he could object. "Get on my back, Kiel," she said, crouching a bit.

"B-But Forte, I can walk..."

"No." She looked at him, and all of her sisterly concern showed as she said, "It's my turn to carry you to the clinic."

* * *

That evening, Kiel bumped into Leon on his way back from Porcoline's restaurant with Forte. The female knight had stayed behind in front of the restaurant to talk with Meg and Clorica, so Kiel decided to walk back on his own. When the Guardian asked where the bandage on his head came from, Kiel replied truthfully, telling the whole story about losing the pole and trying to get it back, and then the pole snapping and the wood getting him. It was embarrassing, especially to admit it to Leon himself, but he couldn't bring himself to lie. After relating his story, Leon just chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you're okay. But also..."

* * *

From the observatory, Leon stared up at the stars that were just beginning to peep through the fast-falling curtain of night. There was a crisp breeze and his ears twitched at the hidden cold.

The sound of metal behind him made him smile and turn around. No sooner had he done so than he was faced with the tip of a blade. Raising his hands in defense, he kept his smile as he looked at the knight. "What'd I do this time?"

"What on earth did you tell my brother?!" She demanded, refusing to lower her blade. "Since I got home he's been laying on his bed mumbling about how he'd never think of fishing the same way!"

He blinked for a moment, seeming genuinely surprised, before he suddenly burst into laughter. "All I told him was that he needed to become more skilled with handling poles!" As he regained his composure, he added, "And you can't blame me for his understanding of double entendres."


End file.
